BRAINERD, Minn. — Crow Wing County commissioners plan to send a letter to the governor and state legislators to voice their opposition to the revised state flag.

Commissioner Paul Koering added the issue to the agenda Tuesday. Koering said he wanted to get a feeling for where commissioners in the north-central Minnesota county stood as he’s heard criticism from his constituents from a couple of phone calls and a lot of social media posts regarding the new flag.

“I’ve heard displeasure, a lot of displeasure from my constituents about this changing of the Minnesota flag,” Koering said. “In my mind it feels like we’re whitewashing our history because somebody is offended by something on the flag, which I don’t understand at all.”

Koering noted there has been an ongoing debate about removing Confederate Civil War images and statues that offend some. Koering said he was just reminding everyone that such symbols represent the nation’s history, whether it’s ugly or bad.

The current Minnesota state flag was adopted by the 1957 legislature. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Secretary of State)

“I know there’s people that deny the Holocaust, the murdering of millions of Jewish people, and they would like to whitewash that,” Koering said. “But I think we’re doomed to repeat our failures, if we whitewash our current history. And this is just an example of it here changing the Minnesota flag, but I don’t agree with — a lot of my constituents don’t agree with.”

The controversy about the current state flag isn’t new. The flag, which mainly consists of the state seal, depicts a white settler plowing a field, while a rifle rests on a nearby stump. The settler is watching a Native American on horseback, riding toward an apparently setting sun.

The state’s 11 recognized Dakota and Ojibwe tribes consider the current design offensive. Flag experts also generally find the current flag’s design to be complicated and uninspiring.

Koering asked for a resolution where the Crow Wing County Board members could express displeasure at the change to Gov. Tim Walz, the state Legislature and the area’s legislative representatives. Koering said he hoped he wasn’t putting any of the other commissioners in a bad position regarding the issue but that he felt passionately that this change wasn’t right.

“I think it’s a great idea to do a resolution that probably doesn’t mean anything,” Koering said. For others, Koering said there is also a financial piece to it in replacing the flag and the state seal. The seal now sits prominently behind the commissioners in the boardroom at the historic courthouse. Koering noted it is also on the badges of county deputies. He questioned the cost to replace everything with a new seal and what it means to taxpayers.

“It doesn’t make any sense financially, but that’s really an after-the-fact thing, I just feel like it’s a whitewashing of our history,” Koering said.

Commissioner Steve Barrows said he’s also heard from constituents who don’t understand why they would change the flag.

“I have to say I’m not sure how changing our flag is going to advance our society and yet we’re paying, we’re going to pay some money out, the taxpayers are, to make those changes. Personally, and I agree with you,” Barrows said to Koering. “And I don’t see the sense in it. I’m very proud of the current flag and the seal that we have so I concur with you.”

Barrows said he also wanted to see a resolution to note opposition to the change.

Commissioner Doug Houge said he also heard from constituents about why the flag design wouldn’t be put on the ballot so Minnesotans could vote on it.

“It is very unpopular,” Houge said.

The commissioners voted unanimously in favor of bringing a resolution up for a vote during the next board meeting on Jan. 2.

The state Legislature passed a bill in May to appoint an independent commission to redesign the state seal and flag. The new designs were to be adopted no later than Jan. 1, though legislators could make revisions.

The goal was to have a new flag in place for the anniversary of when Minnesota became a state on May 11, 1858.

More than 2,600 public submissions were received for a new state flag, and the commission made various revisions before a new design was chosen earlier this month. A new seal, featuring a loon, was also selected.

The new flag has the abstract outline of the state in dark blue next to a field of lighter blue, which represents the state’s waters. An eight-pointed star on the state outline, which is also the design on the floor of the state Capitol rotunda, represents Minnesota’s “Star of the North” motto.

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